NewJeans debuts atop Billboard 200, lands 3 songs on Hot 100

K-pop sensation NewJeans has made it to the top of Billboard. The band's new album "Get Up" notched No. 1 on the US music publication's albums chart, Billboard 200, becoming the second K-pop girl group album to land atop the list. According to Billboard's latest chart release, the album, the second EP from NewJeans, led Billboard 200 with a total of 126,500 in sales tallied between July 21-27. The quintet is the second girl group in the world to top Billboard 200 in the

Aug. 3, 2023

Blackpink's Jisoo, actor Ahn Bo-hyun dating

Blackpink's Jisoo and South Korean actor Ahn Bo-hyun are confirmed to be dating. Both the singer and her agency, YG Entertainment, confirmed the news on Thursday. Local news outlet Dispatch's first reported the news in an exclusive on Thursday. The report stated that Jisoo and Ahn have started dating recently, with the couple mostly spending time at Jisoo's house located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Separate pictures of Jisoo and Ahn assumed to have been taken in Jisoo's apartment c

Aug. 3, 2023

[Herald Interview] Mamamoo Plus hopes to pave new path for girl group longevity

A decade together has passed already for Solar and Moonbyul of Mamamoo, yet the two singers still feel like fresh rookies, they said in a recent interview. The interview, conducted with local press on Tuesday in Seoul, came a few days before the duo's subunit return as Mamamoo Plus, with their first EP "Two Rabbits." Imagining this moment around a decade ago when they first set off as Mamamoo in 2014, Moonbyul said she did not imagine a rosy future just then. "I thought that

Aug. 3, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook sets another streaming record with ‘Seven’

Jungkook of BTS generated 200 million streams on Spotify with solo single “Seven (feat. Latto)” in the shortest time for a male artist, according to label Big Hit Music on Wednesday. The single reached the milestone in 14 days, setting a record for a male musician as well as for a collaboration song. It is the second-fastest song to hit the mark overall. “Seven” has been breaking records on the platform since its release, hitting the 50 million milestone in three days an

Aug. 2, 2023

KNSO brings back conductor workshop to foster future maestros

The Korean National Symphony Orchestra is bringing back its conductor workshop designed to nurture the country’s future maestros. From Tuesday to Aug. 12, the workshop will offer one-on-one instructions and a series of seminars offering practical advice to becoming a professional musician. David Reiland, who has been leading the orchestra as its music and artistic director since 2018, will provide extensive one-on-one instructions tailored to the three young conductors Kim Ri-ra, Par

Aug. 2, 2023

[Herald Interview] Do Kyung-soo says idol past helped his gravity-defying performance

Do Kyung-soo, the main vocalist of K-pop idol group EXO, said his idol background was especially helpful in playing an abandoned astronaut in “The Moon.” “I have been doing choreography as a singer and I’m good at memorizing body movements in a short period of time. I personally think action sequences are like memorizing choreography, so it was very helpful to shoot action scenes using wires with movements like swimming in space,” Do said in an interview with The Ko

Aug. 2, 2023

[Herald Review] High-quality, realistic visual effects lift ‘The Moon’ beyond banal plotline

After several attempts, the spaceship finally rises high in the sky. Despite small errors and an unfortunate accident losing two fellow spaceship crew members, the youngest and the most unprofessional astronaut inside the damaged spaceship pushes ahead with the mission to land on the moon. But will he be able to get back to Earth safely? This kind of imaginative story taking place in outer space is nothing new to moviegoers these days, with moon-themed sci-fi movies from around the world such as

Aug. 2, 2023

‘Physical: 100’ production team to create new sports competition show

Local broadcaster MBC on Tuesday confirmed the production of new sports variety show “University Survival.” MBC will join hands with production company Luyworks Media and screenwriter Kang Sook-kyung, who helmed Netflix’s hit reality series “Physical: 100,” together with the broadcaster. “University Survival” will require its contestants, who are sports-related majors or are members of Korean university sports clubs, to battle it out in intense survival

Aug. 2, 2023

BTS' V to team up with Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for solo album

V of BTS is coming out solo with NewJeans' producer Min Hee-jin at the lead of production. The group's agency Big Hit Music on Wednesday announced that V will collaborate with Min, who is the CEO and executive producer of NewJeans' label Ador. Big Hit Music and Ador are two independent labels housed under the multilabel entertainment company Hybe. According to Big Hit Music, the collaboration started from V's idea, and Min will take the helm of the singer's solo projec

Aug. 2, 2023

Boy band Pow to debut in September

Novice label Grid is set to launch its first boy band next month. The multinational quintet will include reality audition program "Loud" contestant Youn Dong-yeon and Thai singer-actor Yorch, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday. "Our first five-piece boy band has confirmed its name as Pow and will officially debut in September," Grid announced. Along with Yorsch and Youn, Korean members Jungbin, Hyunbin and Hong will comprise Pow. Yorch, whose real name is Yongsin

Aug. 2, 2023

[Herald Interview] Rookie Xikers gears up for real game with second album

In less than five months after its debut, boy band Xikers returns revamped, ready to invite listeners deeper into its universe. Opening the second chapter of their fledgling journey is the band's second EP, "House of Tricky: How to Play," which is set for release on Wednesday evening. In March 30, the 10-member boy group -- consisting of members Minjae, Junmin, Sumin, Jinsik, Hyunwoo, Junghoon, Se-eun, Yujun, Yechan and, the band's only foreign member, Hunter -- debuted as th

Aug. 2, 2023

Sejong Summer Festival to turn Gwanghwamun Square into dancing club

Seoul’s iconic Gwanghwamun Square is gearing up for a remarkable transformation into a space for dancing, DJ parties and an opera performance later this month. The outdoor Sejong Summer Festival will be held under a “Groove” theme from Aug. 11 to Sept. 9, according to the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on Monday. This is the first outdoor event organized by the Sejong Center in four years and the first since the pandemic. Five performances are scheduled, with seating cap

Aug. 1, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook ranks No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with solo single

Jungkook of BTS maintained a spot among the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 as his solo single “Seven” ranked No. 9 on the main singles chart dated Aug. 5. The single debuted atop the chart last week as well as its Global excl. the US and Global 200 charts, making him the first solo musician from Asia to top all three at once. It kept its spot at the top of both global charts this week. “Seven” hit the iTunes top songs chart at No. 1 in 114 regions so far and is stay

Aug. 1, 2023

'13egin': Infinite's new beginning at 13th year

Infinite has returned with its first new album in five years, "13egin," marking a new start 13 years since they debuted. The album, the band's seventh EP, came out Monday evening. The desperation to make their comeback work was even fiercer than when the group first debuted in 2010, Jang Dongwoo, the six-piece's main vocalist and rapper said Monday during a press conference held in Seoul. "Establishing Infinite Company, we did everything ourselves this time, from the alb

Aug. 1, 2023

[Herald Interview] What ‘Smuggler’ actor Park Jung-min has learned from working with renowned filmmakers

Having debuted in 2011 with “Bleak Night,” actor Park Jung-min has worked with renowned filmmakers and appeared in hit films at a relatively early stage of his acting career. He has worked with director Lee Joon-ik in “Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet” (2016), director Yeon Sang-ho in “Hellbound” (2021) and director Park Chan-wook in “Decision to Leave” (2022), to name a few. He has played powerful and impressive characters in films like “Svaha

Aug. 1, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Chance to play elderly character was priceless'

From an Alzheimer’s patient in his 80s in “Remember” (2022) and Sunyang Group’s founder Jin Yang-chul in “Reborn Rich” (2022) to veteran detective Kim Taek-rok in “Shadow Detective 2,” Lee Sung-min is on a roll with unique elderly characters. Though the diversity of portrayals was a huge challenge, Lee was certain that the roles would become a assets in the future. “I had a chance to feel what it would be like to perform 10 to 20 years in the

Aug. 1, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink hits record 2.1b views with ‘Ddu-du Ddu-du’ video

Blackpink amassed 2.1 billion views on YouTube with the music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du” on Sunday, according to label YG Entertainment on Monday. It is the first music video in K-pop history to reach the milestone. “Ddu-du Ddu-du” is the main track from its first EP, “Square Up,” that was released in June 2018 and swept all music charts here. The single ranked No. 55 on Billboard’s Hot 100 while the album was No. 40 on the Billboard 200, both records fo

July 31, 2023

[Herald Review] In ‘Little Garden,’ grannies learn to document own lives on video

In Myeongju-dong, an older neighborhood in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, a group of eight older women who have lived in the area for over 30 years and have an average age of 75 among them gather to go over video footage they took over the past week. Besides meeting friends, volunteering, doing housework and gardening, these women have a new thing to cross off their to-do lists: shooting moments of their everyday lives with their smartphones. It is part of a community center program. Some of the women t

July 31, 2023

[Exclusive] Nearly 30% of Hybe K-pop trainees are non-Koreans

Close to a third of K-pop idols-in-training at Hybe, the company behind boy group BTS, are non-Korean nationals, The Korea Herald has learned. Roughly 28 percent of trainees under Hybe’s domestic labels are of foreign nationality, the firm said in response to a media inquiry from the Herald. “Although we don’t have a particular strategy aimed at increasing the proportion of foreign trainees, Hybe supports the selection and development of trainees irrespective of country or regi

July 31, 2023

SM to debut new boy band Riize in September

SM Entertainment is debuting a new boy band, Riize, in September. The K-pop powerhouse on Monday announced the new group will be a seven-piece act that will carve out a new niche in emo-pop, an unconventional sound yet to be explored inside the K-pop scene. According to SM, the group's name compounds "rise" and "realize" to convey the group's ambition to rise up and realize its dreams. Consisting of seven multinational individuals with different strengths and charac

July 31, 2023